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take part in it. There would be rich prizes in horse and armor ransom with so many of the courtiers competing. |
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The one important piece of good luck Alinor had was that Ian was too busy to pay much attention to her. He and Arundel had met with Pembroke and Salisbury the day after Christmas to arrange for how many would compete, which field they would use, and such details. They had to meet again to rearrange everything. For one thing, the king had suddenly requested a day's jousting to precede the melee; for another, the tournament was arousing more interest than anyone had expected. Owing to the short notice, both Ian and Arundel had assumed only the knights at court would take part. Obviously someone had taken care to spread the word widely abroad. Every younger son who wished to add ransom money to his thin purse was besieging either Ian or Arundel for a place among his men. Before they could refuse and set hard limits, a message came from the king that no one should be refused; all were to be welcomed to this celebration of joy. |
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At first, Ian tried to keep this information from Alinor, but the queen's ladies were not so considerate. It was not that all of them intended to be unkind, merely that many would not have cared one way or another about the fate of their husbands in similar circumstances. Moreover, Alinor had gone to considerable trouble to impress upon them and upon the queen that her feelings were exactly similar. Ian was a convenience. He had saved her from the king's henchmenAlinor did not hide her abhorrence of Fulk and Henry, but she couched it in terms that would surely please Isabella; she pandered to the queen's pride by decrying their low birth. More, even, she affected a bright-eyed, excited interest, saying, quite truly, that she had never witnessed a tourney before. This opened the gates of speculation among the ladies, and Alinor gathered a great deal of information that her husband would have preferred she did not have. |
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